CU Strategic Planning
Rick Thomas currently serves as the Vice President of Community Development & Transformation at CU Strategic Planning, where leadership encompasses a team dedicated to shaping impactful community plans across credit unions. Previous roles include Business and Economic Development Specialist, General Manager for Rick Nah Nam Seafood Nisqually Indian Tribe, and Program Director for the ATNI EDC Buy Indian Program, demonstrating a strong record in economic development and strategic management. Rick has also held positions such as Nonprofit and Business Consultant, Company Representative for SHANDONG TEXTILE MACHINERY CO., LTD, and Chief Executive Officer at Open Joint-Stock Company "Ishonch." An independent business consultant in Uzbekistan and the Chief Investment Officer for the Central Asian-American Enterprise Fund highlights Rick's extensive international experience. Educational credentials include an MBA from the University of Phoenix and dual undergraduate degrees in Marketing and Psychology from Waynesburg University.
CU Strategic Planning
CU Strategic Planning is the top-performing consulting firm working with credit unions in the field of community development. Collectively, its staff has over 300 years of experience. Through collaboration with its clients, the firm has authored and implemented more than 330 award-winning applications for CDFI credit unions resulting in $800,000,000 in US Treasury CDFI Awards. As part of its community development consulting, CU Strategic Planning unlocks opportunities for credit unions to change their communities by strategically managing credit unions' transition to the community development business model. This includes DEI strategy, executive recruiting, product and policy enhancement to increase the yield on assets and impacts to the community, and developing pipelines of loans from new community partners.